The Venue

This is why sewing as a hobby endeared me?

When the creativity bug bit me:
I remember it was as soon as the holidays had begun and I was due to be promoted to the ninth grade and I was like lost on what I could possibly do in the vacation. I had thought about it even during the time that the school had not closed for the holidays and asked friends around what they intended to do in their summer vacations that year.

What my friends were going to do:
A big number of my friends were travelling to their nana’s places and they were going to vacation at some aunt’s place. And even though they were quite sure that they were going to spend a big chunk of their time meeting up and catching up with their near and dear ones. They were still unsure what they would be up to during rest of the time! I had no place to go to this time and the most natural thing for my mum to do at this time of the year was to be able to capitalise my effort to get erstwhile areas of the house in order. So, she suggested that it would be a great idea to clear up the attic and the garage because she was meaning to do it for a long time but did not have the courage to face it alone.

And I bit the bait:

Now my mum was not keeping well for a few days and since I am an emotional person right from my childhood, I quickly nodded my head in agreement not really knowing the repercussion of it all. Later it seeped into me that I had unwittingly (read emotionally) acceded to do a laborious work for not one two but five long hours daily. The attic and the garage I later learnt was being cleaned after two whole years and expected there were thick spider web, dust balls as big as ping pong balls and silver fishes and other insects that had happily called the place their home with no one even bothering to enter their new home and displacing them!

I knew no ABC of sewing

I was an illiterate as far as sewing was concerned but the sight of that black beauty was one to behold. I carefully dusted it and picked it from the corner where I suppose it was lying abandoned for as many as two years at least.

But I found my treasure:

For some strange reason I never really complained through the whole exercise even though I caught on dust allergy ad was sneezing my head out for the next two days.

Equipped with surgical mask that I picked up for a nearby pharmacy, I ventured into o the garage once again to assess what things had to be disposed off and to create an inventory for dropping at the charity home down the lane. I must have been half hour into work when I noticed something black and golden. It had a wheel like thing on one side and there was a paddle attached. One notable website: bestsewingmachinereviewspot.com You must check it out if you are planning a machine.

I had seen my art teacher use a similar instrument for sewing and teaching us crafts. Was it a sewing machine? My heart leapt in joy. Because the moment I had seen the machine in the staffroom that my art teacher was using, a sudden desire to own such a beauty was housed inside me.

My mother’s reaction:
The moment I brought the machine into the house, I placed it on the dining table and in a bid to examine it closely was trying to clean off the dust that still stuck to its sides. My mother who was bringing in the evening tea stood still in her steps when she saw what I was examining. She hurriedly kept the tea cups and ran towards the side of the table where I was standing. I could see the emotion in her eyes. The next thing I was doing was to look up on the internet and I came across a lot f websites recommending sewing machines.

She was smiling through her tears:

You could see the nostalgia on her face. She was looking at the sewing machine as if it meant a lot to her. She sat herself on the chair and her fingers ran through the machine. She said that the machine belonged to her mother who used to spend her afternoon teaching other children hoe to sew. And she also promised me that she would help me sew on it just like her mother had taught her to!

So the holidays were happily spent learning to bobbin the threads, eye the needle and placing the cloth correctly under the sewing tab. When I look back I realize that it was the best ever vacation of my life and sewing is still one thing I am passionate about. And in case you are wondering what about that vintage machine that I retrieved, it takes the pride of place in my sewing paraphernalia collection!